[mythtv-users] Dedicated TV-card vs AGP card with TV-out

[Micah]

Hi all,

I've been trolling the archives for a while, trying to get a feel for Myth
and how it works.  I'm getting ready to upgrade my desktop system, and
rather than toss out or sell the old parts, I'm planning to put together a
dedicated Myth box with it.  The parts that I think I can re-use are:

Athlon XP 1600+ (like 1.43 GHz or something)
512 MB DDR-RAM (forgot the specs)
Epox 8KHA+ Mobo

Now, the more I look, the more I like the small form factor PCs.  I
especially like the Biostar iDeq line, since it has an integrated IR
receiver.  Thanks to all the great postings on this list, I've learned to
avoid the nForce2 version and look instead toward the Via KM400 based one.
Unfortunately, there is only 1 AGP and 1 PCI slot on those motherboards.
I'm thinking about going wireless eventually, which means the wireless lan
card would take the PCI slot.

So...this brings me to my questions:
1) Are there any reasonably priced (under US$100) AGP cards that can do
hardware MPEG encoding?  If not, will my CPU be fast enough to encode a
single stream?  Remember, I don't need any gaming speed or anything from
this machine, only Myth.  Maybe some console emulation (which I have never
done under Linux anyway, and is not a high priority)
2) What are the picture quality differences between dedicated TV-tuner cards
(like the PVR-250, which I was planning on getting) and AGP cards that have
TV-out as a feature?  I had a GeForce (2 MX, I believe) and I was very, very
disappointed with the TV-out quality.
3) Has anyone ever heard of a wireless lan card that uses USB instead of
PCI?  I don't like the idea of plugging in a bunch of external USB devices,
but I suppose it would be an OK solution if I decided to use the PCI slot
for the PVR-250.  I suppose I could even put it inside the case if there is
room and I can figure out how to do it.

Thanks again for putting out all this great info for noobs!
Micah